A/N: It's been a while, so I hope that you have recovered since the last chapter and are ready for your next portion of Pure Fluff! Reviews are always very much appreciated!
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a deep desire to get some proper sleep.
She was in that state on the verge of sleep and awakening when she always stirred a lot. On a queen-sized bed, this meant that the person sleeping next to her had very little chance of actually not waking up. Her eyes opened and landed on a bookshelf, no more than three feet from the bed. As she felt Jess's hand on her waist and memories of the night and morning returned, a wave of heat instantly spread over her face, her heartbeat speeding up. Jess, on his part, had his face buried in a pillow. His right arm seemed numb, his elbow twisted at a weird angle. He frowned into the pillow when he realised that what he felt under his right palm was in fact bare skin. He lifted his head, took in Rory's long hair splayed on the pillow next to him, smiled a tiny, crooked smile and let his head fall again while his fingers gingerly caressed the flesh on her side.
She rolled over, waiting for him to turn his head and face her. No words at the present moment, just blue eyes meeting a hazel pair and small smiles tugging at their lips. Thank you. Love you. Finally.
Jess Mariano, however, wouldn't be himself if he missed the chance to break the silence with something inappropriate. With a lazy, mischievous smile, he peeked under the covers, making Rory gasp and swat his hand away. What he saw belonged to him, though.
"Huh. You're naked. So for once it wasn't one of those dreams," he drawled out the last word. The satisfaction he got from the growing redness of her cheeks was undeniable, until, fighting the sheets around them, she kicked him in the shin. Hard. "Oww!"
"You deserved that," Rory said as firmly as she could muster, having to keep from laughing. "If you want to say something, make it nice."
"That wasn't nice?"
"No, that was pervy."
"I'm sorry," he said with a smirk. They both knew he wasn't.
She let her head fall back on her pillow and bit the inside of her cheek as a smirk began to form on her lips. "You owe me mushiness now," she teased.
"Mushiness?" he mimicked.
"Yes, mushiness. Let out the sap within you." she commanded mockingly.
He sighed, preparing an appropriate smart-assed response, but then his eyes met hers, awaiting and serious. He shut his mouth.
"Okay," he cleared his throat. "So, that was my first," he hesitated for a moment more, knowing that if there was still a trace of reputation he had in her eyes, this statement was bound to ruin it completely. "My first... love making experience." He watched as Rory smiled widely and proceeded to get lost in thought, which he didn't really like at that particular moment.
She couldn't, however, keep her mind from wandering briefly. Dean flickered in her head and was dismissed immediately, Logan lingered there for a second.
Jess seemed to read her mind. "Shit, please don't think about the blonde asshole now," he pleaded.
Asshole was the keyword. She was an asshole herself in those days; whether it had or had not anything to do with Logan. Thinking about her DAR, boat-stealing, sleeping with Logan in the fancy pool house self made her inwardly cringe.
She met Jess's eyes. "It was the first one of the person I want to be," she said quietly, and he looked at her with such intensity that she thought fleetingly that she might explode. So she added lightly, "Rory's not first, but would you maybe settle for the best?"
He couldn't help an utterly manly smirk of satisfaction from emerging on his face. "You're comparing us? Cruel woman."
"You mind?" She lifted her head and propped herself up on her elbow, literally facing the consequences of her spur of the moment confession.
"With that outcome? Nope."
"Good," she said with a grin.
"Wait... despite the broken arm?" he inquired curiously.
She shook her head, blushing but still smiling. "Mariano, don't you think that I'll start singing your praises!"
"Good, 'cause you can't hold a tune." He waited for her to shoot him a playful glare and raised his eyebrows. "Moaning will do though," he added in an innocent tone.
"Pig!"
"Jess Mariano, nice to meet you," he deadpanned.
"What happened to Jess the gentleman I've been friends with for the last six months?"
"His head exploded from all the ungodly thoughts he's been having about a certain friend," he said and brushed his lips against her pulse point.
"I guess I'll have to live with this Jess," she sighed.
"If it helps, I'll have you know..." Jess started and moved to her collarbone. "This morning... Just a teaser."
She smiled and buried her fingers in his hair. "You're impossibly smug, you know that?"
"I'm sorry, did I just imagine you telling me that it was the best you've ever had?"
Rory's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "That's not what I said exactly."
"Uh huh?" He smirked at her.
"I meant that you were... it was..." she stuttered and Jess burst out laughing. "What?"
"Remember our first kiss at the gas station?" he asked, still chuckling.
"Of course!" she exclaimed, slightly confused.
"Wait, how did it go..." he mused. "'This was...you...were... are... it was wonderful and I look forward to many similar occurrences in the future' or something to that effect."
"Jess!"
"Just admit it, Gilmore," he teased, "I could always sweep you off your feet."
"Jerk," she muttered. "Smug, conceited, arrogant, vain, big-headed-"
"Do you want me to pass you the Thesaurus or do you have all the synonyms of 'smug' memorised?"
She groaned in frustration and turned away from him.
"Rory?" he murmured. "Just for the record – it was fucking awesome and I do look forward to many similar occurrences in the future." When she still didn't answer, Jess sighed and kissed her shoulder. "How about we don't argue about it and instead I prove that my smugness is well-founded?"
Rory pretended to think about it, her nails digging into the flesh of her palm to keep the smile off her face . "Oh... well, go on then."
"Jess," she started, nudging him gently in the ribs. "Do you have to work today?"
"I'll get out of it," he grumbled and pulled her closer.
"You are so lucky with your job I might actually start hating you for it. Imagine if it was the other way round, I'd be like, sorry, Senator, today I'm not interested in what you have to say, I've had sex! Now, come on," she shook his arm quickly, not allowing him to comment on her previous statement. "Don't fall asleep again, it's 1 p.m. already."
"So?"
"So, we don't want to spend the whole day sleeping, do we?" she asked, but then realised that there was a big chance his answer would be different from the one she wanted, so she added hastily, "Besides, you have roommates. What will they think?"
"They'll see the cake and think that we went nuts and baked in the middle of the night. Plus it's Saturday, which means Chris is sleeping in himself."
"Well, I'm getting up."
"Rory..."
"Hurry if you want to use the bathroom before I go and take a shower... or, actually, I'd appreciate it if you could help me wrap my cast first," she said, picking up a roll of foil from her bag and handing it to him as she sat down on the bed next to him. When he didn't move from his lying position, she tapped on his chest with the roll until he sat up, expressing his discontent with a sound sigh.
She couldn't help but stare at his bare chest while his hands worked on shielding her cast from water, his expression rather grumpy. She bit her lip when his voice reached her ears and she realised what she was doing. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.
She shifted her eyes to his face. "Mom."
His movements stopped for a moment as he looked at her with raised brows and questioning eyes. "My naked body makes you think of your mother?"
"Shut up," she cracked a smile. "I just remembered a conversation I had with her years ago. I promised her I would tell her before anything happened with us," she nodded towards him.
"And?" he inquired, returning to the task at hand. Her hand, specifically.
"And I never did. I mean, she probably figured that much out herself, anyway... but... would it freak you out if I told her today? No details, obviously, just state the fact. It would mean a lot," she lowered her eyes in embarrassment.
"Out of sheer curiosity - why?"
"Can you stand to hear the D and the L words?" He gave her a nod. "I was ashamed of my first times with them, so I never told Mom - she just found out because she's got some sort of a radar. And this," she motioned at the space between them again, "this is different, so it would make sense to tell her."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Sure," he shrugged.
"You're amazing."
"Now, I believe you've already reached the daily limit of compliments you're allowed to pay me," he smirked, putting finishing touches on her cast.
She planted a quick kiss on his lips and got up. "Nice," she looked down at her arm. "Thank you."
She disappeared in the bathroom while Jess entered the kitchen, finding Chris eating cereal and reading, struggling to keep a thick book open with one hand.
"Morning."
"Afternoon."
"Did you bake a cake last night?" Chris asked while Jess gulped a glass of water.
"That must have been the cake fairies," he answered, picking up a pot full of coffee from the counter. He poured it all out into the sink, making his friend gape at him.
"What the hell, man? I just made a fresh pot!"
"Relax, Reed, I'll make another one."
"I'm sorry, I'm failing to see the logic here. I thought you liked my coffee."
"I do."
"So?"
But Jess decided to ignore Chris, ostentatiously fixing his eyes on the opposite wall. Chris frowned and returned to reading, but a few seconds later his eyes snapped back to his friend.
"You got lucky!" he exclaimed, his tone half accusatory and half cheerful.
"Jeez! Would you just mind your own business?"
"So I'm right?" Jess only glared. "Hey, I'm just happy for you here!"
"I'm happy enough for myself, thank you very much."
"Well, I think it's a cause for celebration. How about we throw you a party tonight? My brain is instantly filled with banner ideas," Chris teased.
"You're asking to have your ass kicked."
"Not at all. In fact, just to show you how happy I am for you, I will fend off Matt for today and make up some cover story to get you out of your shift today."
Jess finally cracked a smirk. "Sounds good. Now, what are your ulterior motives?"
"Simply spending a day away from your overjoyed company."
"Well, you have my blessing to do that."
"You're so selfish. If there was a party, there'd be a chance of me getting lucky too."
"Oh yeah."
"That was a negative 'oh yeah', man," Chris accused.
"Not negative, just realistic."
"I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a realistic 'oh yeah'."
"Whatever. You want some coffee?"
"Out of your 'Oh-Rory-last-night-was-so-awesome-I-had-the-urge-to-make-you-coffee-myself' pot? No thanks."
"Suit yourself."
A few moments later, when the coffee was ready and Rory entered the kitchen, her wet hair loosely falling onto her shoulders and eyes more sparkly than usually.
"Oooh, coffee! It smells amazing. Hi Chris," she chirped.
He looked up from his book to shoot her a brief smile. "Hi Rory."
She crossed the kitchen to give Jess a lingering yet decent kiss and smile at him brightly when he handed her a cup of steaming java. She then leaned against him, her back comfortably against his torso; took a sip and sighed contentedly before her eyes fell on Chris who seemed immersed in his reading. She frowned. "Everything okay?" she asked Jess quietly, turning her head to face him.
"Yup. He's just jealous."
"I'm not jealous!" the man replied immediately, finally making eye contact. "I'm just a tad uncomfortable with your lovey-dovey-ness. But don't mind me, I'll deal. How was the party last night?"
"Loud."
"We got a song kind of dedicated to us," Rory grinned.
Chris raised his eyebrows, looking straight at her. "Tell me he danced and my day will be made."
She only smiled behind her cup of coffee while Jess attempted to perform an eye-murder on his friend, who got up from the table, leaving the empty cereal bowl in the sink.
"Oh. Rory, I was meaning to ask," he started casually. "Do you happen to have a sister?"
"Step-sister and half-sister. Fifteen and six respectively. Sorry," she added amusedly.
Chris sighed dramatically. "That's my luck, exactly. Anyway, any big plans for today? Harry mentioned something about wanting to take everyone downtown, show Rory a bit of Philly."
"Not today," Jess answered. "You're working and we are lazing around and then going out to dinner."
Rory furrowed her brow and pulled away to look Jess in the eye. "We are?"
"Yup."
"Well, gee, how nice of you to ask me."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Chris leaving the kitchen, then gave her an eye roll.
"Rory?"
"Yes?" she smiled with exaggerated sweetness, turning around to fully face him.
"Are you free tonight? I was wondering if you'd like to get some dinner."
"Tonight? Is it a pity date?"
"No, that's just me being spontaneous."
"Huh," she nodded, her expression rather unimpressed.
"Okay, what did I say wrong?"
"Nothing... It's more of who you said it to."
He took a sharp breath, opening his mouth to say something, then he closed it, awkwardly looking around the kitchen while her gaze pierced through him. "I'm sorry," he said a few seconds later, still avoiding eye contact. "I shouldn't have informed you of my intentions to take you out via telling Chris."
"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have," she paused. "But I'm not going to make a big deal of this, especially since my stomach would be really unhappy if I missed out on dinner."
"So we're on," he confirmed.
"Yes, we are. It's about time for a first date, isn't it?" she grinned and met him half way for a kiss.
"Mom, hi!" Rory beamed into her phone. "I was just about to text you to ask you to call me!"
"Yeah, I sensed that. The voices in my head have been begging me to call you since the moment I woke up this morning," Lorelai responded matter-of-factly.
"Well, I'm glad you did. How are you, Mom?"
"I'm great. Even though my newly acquired husband keeps teasing me about being unwell because I made him breakfast this morning."
"You made breakfast?" the younger Gilmore asked cautiously.
"Don't mock, my dearest and only child, I've been known to make breakfast before."
"One that consisted of coffee and reheated waffles from Luke's."
"Hey, I'm learning! Even if he has to assist and make sure nothing is on fire. See, I have a husband to feed now."
"As opposed to a daughter."
"Exactly," Lorelai agreed. "So, what are you up to?"
"Well, you might be amused to know that I baked a cake last night. Or... this morning. Whatever. Point is, Jess and I split the work in half and the cake is still yummy!"
"Our diner men suck the Gilmorism out of us. Should we get rid of them?"
"Nah, I kind of like mine. Was the pun intended, by the way?"
"I refuse to comment."
"That might be for the best..." Knowing that the longer she stalled, the worse was the chance of actually saying it, Rory bit her lip and decided to try. "Mom?"
"Yes?"
"I-I..." she stuttered and leaned her head against a wall. "I slept with Jess." The words were followed by a deep exhalation on Rory's part and silence on Lorelai's, which only intensified Rory's feeling of awkwardness. "Mom? Say something."
Not even Lorelai's next words surprised Rory as much as her mother's voice, because she was clearly smiling as she said, "You suck at waiting."
Rory smiled, too, instantly relaxing,. "Hey! I resent that. Seven years, Mom."
"You've been waiting for Jess sex for the last seven years?"
"...I refuse to comment."
"That might be for the best... God, you know how I feared those words when you were together with Jess the first time? I was about to have a heart attack every time you came to me saying that you wanted to talk."
"How about now?"
"Well, no heart attacks. I might need a cup of coffee but I'm okay."
"Good. Let's change the subject, I already told you way too much."
"It makes me feel like a very special mother that I am."
"I understand. I'm happy, Mom. Ridiculously. If I was looking at myself from the outside, I'd probably feel sick at the sight of how happy I am, but like this, I really cannot be bothered to worry about that."
"Well, who would have thought that you would one day bless your inability to think objectively?"
"Not me."
"Hey, kid? You want to know a secret?"
"As long as it's not dirty."
"Ah! Go tell Jess that I really don't like him for putting your mind in the gutter!"
"Sorry. What were you about to tell me?"
"That I'm ridiculously happy too."
"Which makes me even happier."
"Don't explode from all this happiness. Watch Picture Perfect or something."
"What's sad about that movie?"
"Kevin Bacon's hair."
"Oh, of course."
Lorelai sighed. "Go, enjoy the rest of the time with your lover boy and I'll talk to you next Sunday when we get back from Canada."
"Okay. Say hi to Luke from me. And from Jess."
"Will do. Bye, hon."
"Bye, Mom."
They were sitting at a table slightly too small for two, in the basement of a quaint little Italian restaurant, apparently owned by an old Chinese couple. Rory wasn't quite able to contain her delighted laughter as they were led to their table; the place had a certain vibe, and she didn't refrain from saying that to Jess, much to his annoyance.
"I love it here! I swear, I've never eaten pasta with chopsticks! Is this your regular date spot? Come on, tell me," she demanded excitedly, grinning like a crazy person.
He handed her a menu, giving her a quizzical look. "First off – it's a first date, I'm not talking to you about my dating past tonight. And I've been here once. With Matthew and Chris, when they told me that everything's finalised and The Subsect was going to print."
She was about to reply something when a waiter approached them, making small talk and recommending some weird-sounding types of spaghetti. They ordered and fell silent. Not the awkward kind of silence – they were way past that – but Rory decided to pretend.
"So, Jess, I hear you write," she shot him a bright smile, one that was asking him to play along.
"Not entirely inaccurate," he replied vaguely.
"Meaning?"
"I work in a small publishing company, that's what pays the bills. Writing is still more of a side project."
"But it's in progress?" she inquired, trying to make the question sound casual.
"Rory..."
"Come on, you are so secretive about your writing. I'm trying not to pry but it's killing me here. Just give me something," she half-whined. "What are you working on? A sequel?"
He sighed deeply before answering. "No. No sequels. I tried but all plot devices seemed unsatisfying." He looked down at his hands. "Short stories. I've been writing some short stories."
"Oooh, cool!" Rory exclaimed with genuine enthusiasm. "Are you planning to get them published? Hiding your writing from the world is such a waste, Jess."
"Maybe. Not really. I'm no Salinger, Rory, I can't afford to publish things that are completely random."
"Any chance you are going to let me read something? Or better yet," she giggled self-deprecatingly, knowing her request was rather silly. "You could write a story for me. Like For Esmé – with Love and Squalor."
"Sure," he nodded, with a detectable note of mockery in his voice. "For Rory, with Love and?" he trailed off.
"I'll let you figure that one out."
The waiter came back and placed their drinks on their table.
"Jess, can I ask you something?" Rory asked when they were left alone again. "It's not a first date type of question though..."
"Shoot."
"When we first met – did you have a... an agenda?" she asked, shyly shifting her gaze from her glass to his eyes.
"Huh," he said, not breaking the eye contact.
"I'm... I'm sorry I keep bringing up the past, it's just that I have so many questions and things I need you to know..."
"It's fine," he assured her, slightly stiffening. "We'll get through it all eventually."
"Yes we will. So, agenda?"
"I suppose. At the beginning it was to make you realise that you and Dean didn't work. I liked you, obviously, but I didn't believe you'd ever choose me. But then you kissed me and... yeah, I guess there was a clear agenda from then on."
Neither one of them said anything for a moment, but somehow their hands found their way to each other, their fingers lacing like they always did, naturally. Looking down at them, Rory spoke.
"Did you know I was already in love you when we got together after that dance marathon? It's so stupid, we were together for what – seven, eight months, and I never told you that. My only defence is that I was kind of freaked out by what happened with Dean, you know. One moment I was convinced I loved him, next you were there and that thing with him just seemed so... bland. Not that I thought that would happen with you, it's just that-"
"Rory," he cut her off.
"Yeah?" she finally inhaled.
"We're here now."
"I know...I just wonder sometimes. If we could have worked the first time round, if we said it or just communicated better. If we could have avoided all the hurt we caused each other. But then I think that it brought us closer together than we ever could have been if things went smoothly."
"I think you're right."
"I love you, Jess." She said it without a shadow of a doubt in her voice, and their eyes met unwaveringly as small smiles played on their lips. He wondered how it was possible that every time she said it, it felt slightly different; desperately at the bridge, shyly at breakfast in Luke's apartment, breathlessly against his skin this morning. Despite that, every single time, it left him dizzy.
Even the best of books, with their elaborate plots and exquisite writing rarely did to him what Rory was able to with those three short words.
Now, he silently thanked the old restaurant-owner for sitting them at a table so small that Jess could just lean over and kiss her. He did so at once, pulling her into a kiss that did not know control or fierceness, only slow, tender caresses.
"You know," Rory smiled as she opened her eyes. "This spaghetti better be good because that's the only thing that's keeping me in this seat right now. We could have stayed at home tonight."
His eyebrows rose and smirk grew.
"Putting out on the first date, Gilmore?"
"Well, I'm not planning on going on any more of them so I might as well make the most of it," she smiled and he shook his head, fully enjoying this new-found, sweetly seductive side of Rory Gilmore.
The following morning, after having brunch at the apartment, the group was setting off to take a walk around the city.
"Chris, come on, come with us," Harriet persuaded. "We'll do some touristy stuff and then we'll hit The Tavern to get something to eat. It will be fun!"
Chris grunted. "You go, I'll stay and read The Sorrows Of Young Werther or something."
"Reed," she put her hands on his shoulders and shook him. "Stop moaning."
"I don't wanna be the third wheel."
"That's bull. If anything, you'll be the fifth wheel. Come on, I insist."
"There's no way you'll leave me alone, is there?" he asked, raising his brow.
"Of course not," Harriet grinned in response, reaching to ruffle his afro, only to have her hand swatted away.
"All right, everyone ready?" Matt made sure. "Let's head out then."
"Wait, just give me three minutes," Chris asked.
"We'll wait outside."
The two couples made their way downstairs, bumping into Melanie who was just entering the building.
"Where were you?"
She groaned, stopping in front of her brother. "Matt, I swear, I told you not to ask me that, I'm not a kid anymore! Where are you guys going?"
"A bit of Philly sightseeing," Harriet answered. "Come with us!"
"Oh, you know, I don't want to be the fifth wheel."
"You won't be."
"You're sure?"
"Totally."
"Okay then. What are we waiting for – oh," she clearly rolled her eyes at the sight of Chris, something that didn't escape Harriet's attention.
"Guys," Matt cut in once more. "Let's catch up with Jess and Rory before they start making out again."
"Good idea. Lead the way," Harriet commanded and caught his hand.
Walking through the Fairmount Park, the two couples strolled side by side, with Mel and Chris behind, both with their hands in their pockets.
Harriet turned around to glance at them and smirked. Ignoring her boyfriend, she addressed Jess and Rory. "So, how long do we give them?"
Jess, with a smirk of his own, answered, "It's Chris, he'll take a while."
"What are you talking about?" Matthew eyes the other three suspiciously. "Them? Mel and Chris? No! No way!"
"Shhh, Matt, no need to freak out."
"No need? She's my little sister!" he exclaimed in hysterical whisper.
"And Chris is your best friend. You love him," Harriet tried soothingly.
"I do, but have you seen him with girls?"
"No."
"That's kind of the point, Harry," Jess chimed in, smirking. "Matt, seriously though. Nothing happened, forget this was ever mentioned," he added and rolled his eyes, only for Rory to see. "Why are you smiling like that?" he said into her ear lowering his voice and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to bring her closer.
"Just thinking," Rory answered. "If I ever told the eighteen year old Jess Mariano that he would have close friends, and it would be a group of people who went to Ivy League schools, he would have laughed in my face."
He considered it for a moment. "He would have."
"While we are on the subject – how far is the University of Pennsylvania campus from here?"
"Just around the corner."
"Can we go see it?"
"I bet it looks like all the other Ivy campuses."
"Come on, I want to see it!" Rory pleaded.
"Why?"
"Just curious," she shrugged.
"Guys! Let's turn right."
"... and this is my favourite place on the entire campus," Matthew continued, seemingly in his element, "I've basically spent my entire sophomore year in this library. I had a job here and at one point I even used to sleep in the stuff room. Right around the corner there's the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, really cool place, too, and-"
"And let's please head towards the Museum of Art now?" Mel cut in hopelessly. "Before my feet fall off.
"Fine," Matt huffed.
"Thanks, Matthew," Rory said genuinely, "that was really helpful."
"Yes, have you ever considered a career as a professional tour guide?" Jess asked his friend sarcastically before addressing Rory. "Helpful with what?"
"Looking around the campus," she answered casually.
"Do we have something to talk about?" he frowned.
"No. Maybe, one day, but not now," she said, squeezing his hand reassuringly.
The group walked on for a few minutes until they found themselves at the foot of the Rocky Steps, standing in silence, no one particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of climbing up.
Rory looked up and scrunched her nose. "Rocky's a masochist."
"It just wasn't as hot as it is today."
"And he didn't go around every single touristy place in town before his run."
"It's like... hundreds of steps."
"Seventy-two," Matthew corrected but the grimace on his face revealed that he wasn't so convinced himself.
"Sly is such a legend," Chris stated somewhat randomly, successful in turning everyone's attention away from the steps. "Total renaissance man. And he's so cool with the fans."
"He so is," Matthew confirmed.
Rory's eyes widened. "Don't tell me you met him!"
"We did. Right here, when they were filming Rocky Balboa."
"And you didn't tell me?" she gasped at Jess.
"Hey, I wasn't there."
"That's right, he disappeared at the time," Chris nodded.
"I was finishing off the book."
"Excuses, excuses."
"Guys, should we just skip climbing up?" Harriet interrupted. Everyone gave some gesture or mumble of support for the idea. "Rory? You're the out of towner, you decide."
"No, I think I like the idea of skipping it. There's been more than enough exercise for today..." she said and bit her tongue when she noticed Jess giving her a funny look, "... the walk's been long."
"Okay. Let's go eat then."
Halfway through devouring their Philly cheesesteaks, apparently the best in town, according to the Truncheon gang; while Chris and Mel sat next to each other in somewhat tense silence, barely noticeable thanks to Rory and Matthew's loud discussion on the state of American politics, Harriet caught Jess's eye across the table, and tilting her head towards their respective significant others, she smiled contentedly.
And he smiled right back.